Turtle Rock announces sci-fi multiplayer shooter Evolve

For me, Turtle Rock Studios' Left 4 Dead is about as close as you can get to a perfect game. Simple in concept, infinitely replayable, easy to learn, and impossible to master. I'm not sure how you top it, but I can't wait to see Turtle Rock try with Evolve , its upcoming sci-fi shooter that pits a team of four hunters against one gigantic, overpowered, player-controlled monster.

Evolve is the cover story of Game Informer's February issue , in which more is surely to be revealed, but the developer released a few initial details about the game today. The different hunters will each have different abilities and items, while the monster—more powerful to begin with—will grow larger and more powerful over the course of matches. According to a post on the developer's Facebook page in 2011, it also seems like Evolve will be built in CryEngine 3. It's set to release on Steam and consoles this year.

It sounds like a logical evolution (heh) of the concepts Turtle Rock established in Left 4 Dead, finding balance between two teams with vastly different abilities, and making you feel like you're fighting against impossible odds.

Valve acquired Turtle Rock in 2008 based on the work it did on Counter Strike: Condition Zero and the Counter Strike Xbox port, but the two companies parted ways after the release of Left 4 Dead, allowing Turtle Rock to reform as an independent studio. Originally, Turtle Rock was working with THQ on the project, but Evolve will be published by 2K games, which bought the rights for Evolve during THQ's bankruptcy auction .